eBay item 2589232711 (Ends Jan-22-04 18:32:26 PST) - ACCU-SPREAD 3PT SALT SPREADER (HYD DRIVE)
I think this spreader listed on ebay may be just the ticket for lime spreading (and who knows what else, maybe wild bird food).
Fawna is doing better. She still has not stood up, but she is definitely better. It is extra warm in the llamahouse...Probably 55 degrees. It is only fuel! We have to weigh concerns of carbon monoxide and warmth for the animals. The last thing I want to do is go down to the llamahouse some morning and see all my buddies taking "the big dirt nap" because I got carried away with heaters. I am learning a lot about animals and people and why we get along sometimes. We got about three quarts .. no 2 quarts of warm water into her gut (1 quart spilled). We put a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt in the water to help her recharge her battery. She is actually showing signs of being a nice llama.
Here is a picture of Fawna (not today). She has chosen not to allow the media in the llamahouse. She looks a lot better than Michael Jackson on a good day, trust me.
It got up in the mid 20s today!!! Woo Hooo! I still cannot believe how freakin cold it was the other day. Our basement door froze solid. The house was making snapping sounds because of the temperature differential. I cannot remember (I know I said it before) of a time in my life that it was below zero, snowing and blowing. On top of that I have sick large animal (llama) and had to drag her by the neck into a unlit shack out in the middle of nowhere (home I call it.). Maybe that was my Antarctic destiny right there. Life is harsh. I am so very grateful that I have the means, aptitude, physical ability, and desire to get up and face some of the crap that comes everyday.
I read a great inspirational bit the other day..."All goodness starts with gratitude". I think that is a fantastic starting point for anything. It is truely profound.
I helped DJ and Bob out with some electrical work on their new home today. That was fun. It is great to be able to return favors.
Mars Exploration Rover Mission: Home
Fawn is still not walking. She is in about the same shape she was in when I went to bed. The llama house is warm and she has a blanket on her. I will take her some more food in a bit.
Llama Things
Fawn is doing better, but it is clear she is not recovered. She is still not walking around. The boys run around in their yard just before bedtime to get their bodies ready for the cold night. Fawna has never done that.
I heated up some Gatorade in the microwave and put it in a thermos. We used a turkey baster to squirt some of the solution into her mouth. For a while she really liked it. Now she does not want water or anything. She did eat a few handfuls of grain though. The warmer weather 10 degrees above tonight helps a lot. We have both the heaters going and I think I could sleep ok out in the llama house if it wasn't for the boys stepping on me. They are clumsy. When I was out there a few minutes ago.. there was some good forceful steam coming from her nostrils.
There is no doubt that she would have croaked if we didn't intervene last night. I hope she can still recover. She may not. This bitter cold made me think about all the farm animals that die when we get hit so terribly bad with continued cold. It was so cold here the basement door froze shut. The double pane windows had frost on the inside. This morning was the first time I can remember in my life that it was below zero temperatures and it was snowing with 40 mph winds. That combination is absolutely brutal. At work, we agreed, it was an extraordinary weather situation. Cold, snowy and windy. I am surprised that the weather people did not harp on that a bit more. Very dangerous weather indeed.
I will be checking on fawna. Bonnie is getting sick (probably from the outdoor activities).
La Mara Springs
We have a sick llama on our hands. Fawna had trouble getting up yesterday morning. She was having problems using her legs. It appears she was hypothermic. She is so skittery that she has slept outside for a couple of nights. Man o man is it cold out there. It was 20 below last weekend and again this morning it is below zero with a blowing-driving snow. It is like another planet out there. We took the kerosene heater out there to work with the propane one, put down animal matts under their straw, put a heavy welder's curtain across the front of their house and we literally had to drag fawna inside. She is heavy. She now has a blanket on too. We then rolled her over so she wouldn't get stepped on so much. When I checked on them early this morning the propane heater had run out of fuel, so it wasn't toasty out in their house. Both are running right now. It should be getting toasty out there right now... perhaps in the 40s or 50s.
Logarithmic Maps of the Universe
Here is a neat map of the universe. It is a new rendition from princeton. It makes you think.
The Weird Site -A classy selection of weird, strange and bizarre web sites and news facts.
Today was a strange day. Not that every day is strange, but today I decided to recognize today as strange.
I woke up 5:00 am and got the fire going again, surfed the web, drank coffee, made the usual to-do list.
Started on the mead process, burned garbage, fed llamas, fed chickens.
Started on ebay process, sold three items on ebay, and listed the llama beans.
Thought about work and scenarios
Got fire going again... needed serious reconfig in firebox. Some of the fingers used to hold fire became disjointed.
CAUGHT CAT ON FIRE!... The orange cat (Tioga) came up to me on my computer stinking, looking for affection. He was rubbing on me and me and the monitor, and the desk, meowing... I thought it was outside rolling in the garbage or something, but no he had somehow caught himself on fire... what a dip sh#t. Anyway, he is no worse for the wear. I found the large bit of orange burnt fur. Stinko... He is somewhat bald on his left side tonight.
Made mead. The mead is off to a good start. # more batches to go.
Went and got fire wood. I got in a fight with an apple tree and the apple tree won with a brush to my forehead. I split some apple with an axe. fun.
Packaged some llama dung for sale.
listed some radio items on ebay.
Made some pea soup that was awesome.
Helped make some fudge with Bonnie.
Cranberry Mead
I am making mead today. It has a little cranberry in it, not much. I suspect it will be quite subtle in the finished product. The coffee can contraption holds the honey pot (jug) so the honey can all run out in just a matter of mere hours without having to baby sit. The recipe is as follows:
- Water
- Yeast, Lalvin EC-1118 Saccharomyces bayanus (Champagne) 15 grams (rehydrated)
- 2 quarts Cranberry juice from concentrate
- 10 pounds of Raspberry Honey from Howland Honey
- The starting gravity turned out to be 1073.
The liquid that mead is made from is called "must".
The temperature is above zero out there for the first time in a couple of days. I think it is 3 above right now. The llamas seem happy, the chickens are happy anytime I give them sheep food. We got 4 eggs this morning so everyone is still producing.
I re-read the coal stove manual and discovered I was not using it as efficiently as I could have been. I had it in "weak draft" mode. My draft is excellent, I can run the hot gases through the internal chambers to more effectively extract heat to the room. It did make a significant difference. We add a log or two when the coal starts slowing down and the coal comes right back. The cats like it.